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Pura Tanah Lot:  The temple by the sea

According to this article, Pura Tanah Lot means “temple of land in the middle of the sea”.  I cannot argue with that as the temple speaks for itself.

I was told that only the Balinese are allowed to visit the temple on special occasions.  It is off-limits to everyone else.  It is also believed that Pura Tanah Lot was built in honor of the Balinese sea gods sometime in the 15th or 16th century under the direction of the priest Nirantha. (See this article.)  According to local legend, sea snakes guard the temple against evil spirits.

To get to Pura Tanah Lot, LS and I had to pass a number of stores that sell clothes and other Balinese products.  For this reason, I was rather distracted upon reaching the gates of the temple.  I was also distracted by the crowd.  Luckily, LS and I found a quiet spot on top of a hill opposite the temple.  We spent some time on that spot watching strong waves crash against the temple walls.  It was there what I wondered whether there were really sea snakes nearby.  Looking back, I think, maybe if I stayed on that spot any longer that I did, I would have probably gone to embrace the beautiful sea, which was calling to me.  

An introduction to Balinism

While in Bali, LS coerced me into going to Pura Tanah Lot with her.  When I asked her what Pura Tanah Lot was, she said that it was a temple by the sea.  When I asked her whether it was a Hindu temple, LS told me that it was a Balinese temple and the Balinese people have their own religion, which was something of a mix of Hinduism and animism. 

I was intrigued.  I never knew there was such a religion as Balinism.   Thus, when I came across a book called Bali Chronicles by Willard A. Hanna, I immediately bought it.  In one of the chapters, Hanna tries to describe Balinism and he said this about it:

“In Bali, there is no creed, no dogma, no scripture, no conviction about salvation or damnation by reason of any metaphysical doctrine.  But there is an immense deposit of mystical and spiritual manifestations which the villagers constantly re-experience in daily life, always aware of the living presence in nature of the ancestral and divine spirits.  Under the guidance of the priests who plan the temples and conduct the temple ceremonies, these manifestations assume substance and names and significance.  This arrangement proves philosophically gratifying to the learned and symbolically satisfying to the unlettered.  And there is a rigid code of conduct which conditions every contact between human beings or between men and immortals.”  (Hanna, Bali Chronicles, p. 241 (c 2004).)

While Hanna’s description of Balinism is all the information I have about it, I do know that this system of belief has had a profound impact on the Balinese people who are gentle folk with a peaceful (almost spiritual) demeanor and who show great respect for life, people and  the world around them.